Morocco Budget Breakdown: What 42 Days in Morocco Actually Cost Us
Before arriving in Morocco, we expected it to be one of the cheaper countries on our trip.
Accommodation looked affordable.
Transport seemed reasonable.
Food was supposed to be inexpensive.
Compared to Europe, Morocco felt like an opportunity to reset the budget.
And in many ways, it did.
But Morocco also became one of the hardest countries we've had to accurately budget for because our plans changed significantly after we arrived.
What We Actually Spent
The raw spending figures don't tell the full story.
Originally, Morocco was planned as a 50-day stay.
Based on our annual travel budget of $120,000 AUD, that gave us an allowable budget of:
€9,900 - €198 per day; or
$16,400 AUD - $328 AUD per day
Our actual spend for Morocco was:
€8,839
$14,512 AUD
At first glance, that looks fantastic.
More than $1,890 AUD under budget.
But that's not what happened.
Part way through our stay, our horse-riding program in Sidi Kaouki finished more than a week earlier than planned, reducing our time in Morocco from 50 days to 42 days.
That meant we had to recalculate the allowable budget.
Revised Budget (42 Days)
Allowable Budget: €8,316 ($13,668 AUD)
Actual Spend: €8,839 ($14,512 AUD)
Current Position
€523 ($844 AUD) over budget
However, we're currently awaiting a €1,000 refund relating to the unused portion of our horse-riding program.
Potential Final Position
If the refund is received:
€477 ($832 AUD) under budget
At the time of writing, the refund has not been received, so the figures in this article reflect money that has actually left our bank account.
Where The Money Went
Flights & Arrival Costs
€455 ($745 AUD) Flights from Italy
€51 ($84 AUD) Additional baggage
The baggage charge was entirely my fault.
When booking the flights, I accidentally selected only one checked bag for the family instead of one bag per person.
By the time we realised, there wasn't much we could do except pay the extra fee.
Marrakech & The Sahara Desert (8 Days)
Our time in Marrakech was split into two separate stays, with a Sahara Desert tour in between.
The first stay was inside the Medina.
The second stay was outside the Medina before travelling west to Essaouira.
Accommodation
€231 ($380 AUD) – Medina accommodation
€304 ($599 AUD) – Outside Medina accommodation
Both represented good value, although we preferred staying outside the Medina.
It was quieter, less chaotic and we found food prices noticeably cheaper.
Sahara Desert Tour
€382 ($640 AUD)
The Sahara tour was one of the experiences we were most excited about before arriving in Morocco.
Driving through the Atlas Mountains, riding camels into the desert and spending a night in the Sahara was something completely different to anything we'd done before.
One thing we didn't anticipate was how much we'd spend on food during the tour.
Lunches and snacks weren't included, and most meals were costing between $17 AUD and $22 AUD per person.
For a family of four, those costs added up surprisingly quickly.
The Hot Air Balloon That Never Happened
We had also booked a sunrise hot air balloon flight over Marrakech.
Unfortunately, the operator never arrived for pickup.
Because we were already committed to travelling to Essaouira the following day, we couldn't reschedule.
Thankfully, we received a full refund.
Marrakech & Sahara Takeaway
Accommodation and transport weren't the surprise here.
Food was.
Between Medina pricing and the meals required during the desert tour, we spent more than we'd anticipated.
The desert experience itself, however, was absolutely worth it.
Essaouira (15 Days)
After Marrakech, Essaouira felt like a completely different world.
The pace slowed down.
The ocean breeze rolled in.
Life became much more relaxed.
It quickly became one of our favourite places in Morocco.
Accommodation
€763 ($1,282 AUD)
This was one of the best-value accommodations of our entire trip.
For 15 nights we had:
Three bedrooms
A dedicated office
Plenty of room for the kids
Walking access to the beach and town
For a family of four, it was excellent value.
Transport
€110 ($180 AUD) Private transfer from Marrakech
The three-hour drive was comfortable and stress-free.
Travelling with luggage and children, it felt like money well spent.
Surfing, Kitesurfing & Quad Biking
€568 ($924 AUD) Surfing & Kitesurfing
€123 ($200 AUD) Quad Biking
Only I completed kitesurfing lessons, but all four of us completed two surf lessons before hiring boards and wetsuits ourselves whenever conditions were good.
The quad biking was another family highlight and gave us a chance to explore the coastline and dunes surrounding Essaouira.
Food & Daily Living
Food was probably the biggest surprise of our time in Morocco.
We expected to cook more meals ourselves.
The reality was different.
While groceries were inexpensive, we struggled with the quality of fruit and vegetables and often found buying meat difficult. We also weren't always confident in how some products had been stored.
As a result, we ate out far more than we'd planned.
Most lunch and dinner meals across Morocco cost between $9 AUD and $18 AUD per person, which doesn't sound like much until you're feeding four people every day.
We also experienced some stomach issues early in our stay.
Eventually we found a small pizza and pasta restaurant that we trusted and ended up eating there for lunch almost every day.
Essaouira Takeaway
Essaouira delivered some of the best value of anywhere we've visited.
The accommodation was fantastic.
The atmosphere was relaxed.
The beach was beautiful.
The biggest lesson was that food wasn't as cheap as we'd expected once convenience, trust and family-sized portions were factored in.
Sidi Kaouki (19 Days)
This is where most of our Morocco budget went.
And honestly, that was intentional.
The entire reason we travelled to Sidi Kaouki was for the horse-riding experience.
Transfers
€20 ($33 AUD) Essaouira to Sidi Kaouki
€75 ($123 AUD) Sidi Kaouki to Marrakech Airport
Interestingly, the longer transfer back to Marrakech Airport ended up being cheaper than our shorter transfer from Marrakech to Essaouira.
Food & Daily Living
Food in Sidi Kaouki was an interesting dilemma. At one end of town there was a mix of cheaper food options with some expensive options mixed in. The middle of town had a really cool 3 story restaurant/ yoga/ surf hire shop that was pretty expensive to eat at. And at the far end of town, was a really fancy restaurant that was by far the best value in town. We ate here many times during our stay.
At one point we paid around $15 AUD for a pizza that had the texture of cardboard. You’re probably thinking, why eat pizza in Morocco? Well, the pizza we were eating in Essaouira was honestly better than any pizza we ate in Italy.
There were a few small shops that sold grocery items, however the range was not very big, and food options were limited. We used this shop to buy oat milk, breads, water and snacks.
Horse Riding Program
€3,320 ($5,400 AUD)
The horse-riding hub was originally designed as a four-week experience.
The first two weeks were meant to be focused on our family, with:
Horse riding three days per week
Two additional activity days each week
The second two weeks were intended to transition into a worldschooling hub environment where multiple travelling families would stay together.
Those weeks were also meant to include:
Breakfast
Dinner
A small lunch snack
Three horse-riding days and 2 additional activity days
Unfortunately, no other families joined the program.
A number of issues throughout the experience eventually led us to leave more than a week earlier than planned.
We're currently awaiting a refund of approximately €1,000 relating to the unused accommodation and activities from the final week.
Sidi Kaouki Takeaway
The horse-riding program represented almost half of everything we spent in Morocco.
Without it, Morocco would have been one of the cheapest countries we've visited.
But this was also one of the main reasons we travelled to Morocco in the first place.
What It Was Like Living In Morocco
Morocco felt very different to both Europe and Southeast Asia.
It was:
Cheaper than Italy
More expensive than Vietnam
Less predictable than either
Accommodation was possible with our $100 AUD budget per night.
Transport was affordable.
Food was more expensive than we'd anticipated.
Not because meals were individually expensive, but because feeding a family of four three meals a day adds up quickly when grocery shopping isn't as practical as you'd hoped.
The Real Takeaway
Morocco reinforced something we've learned repeatedly throughout this trip.
Travel budgets aren't determined by countries.
They're determined by choices.
If we removed all the fun activities we experienced:
The Sahara Desert tour
Surfing
Kitesurfing
Quad biking
The horse-riding program
Morocco would have been incredibly cheap, but it would have been rather boring day to day.
Instead, we chose experiences.
The bigger challenge wasn't the cost.
It was the change of plans.
We budgeted for 50 days.
We stayed for 42.
Even so, we'll likely finish somewhere between €523 over budget and €477 under budget.
For a family of four spending six weeks exploring Marrakech, the Sahara Desert, Essaouira and Sidi Kaouki while surfing, kitesurfing, quad biking and horse riding, we're pretty happy with that result.
Final Thought
Morocco wasn't our cheapest destination.
But it may have delivered some of our most memorable experiences.
The Sahara Desert.
The Atlas Mountains.
Atlantic surf.
Horse riding on the beach.
Watching the kids grow in confidence around animals and new challenges.
Those aren't things we'll remember because they were cheap.
They're things we'll remember because we actually did them.
And that's exactly why we came.